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North Park History and Lore
By Bobbie Bagel
March/April 2020
 North Park historian Katherine Hon has created a charming anthology that chronicles the community she loves called History Snippets: PastMatters Stories of North Park. Over three dozen stories are collected from Hon's Uptown News column, "PastMatters," published from 2015 through 2019. The author will read and sign books at a free event March 7 at 4pm at the Marston House Museum Shop, 3525 Seventh Avenue.
This book is a great reminder of what has given the North Park community its character for so many generations. Each article is well written and well chosen. There are tributes to the recently departed Pekin Café and Paras Newsstand. Among the many engaging pieces are articles on the golden age of tile as seen in Arts and Crafts bungalow fireplaces, and on the terrific neon signs so prevalent in the 1940s. There is one on affordable housing in the 1930s, and a remembrance of the tragic Normal Heights fire in 1985. SOHO members will be pleased to find a column honoring George Marston, and Alana Coons, SOHO's education and communications director, contributed the foreword.
This book really is a must-have for anyone who calls North Park home, has lived here, or recently discovered its vitality in shops, restaurants, and breweries. Please join us to spend time with Katherine Hon on March 7.
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